Efficient global optimization of a novel hydroformylation process

Abstract A novel process for the hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes in a thermomorphic solvent system is investigated. Mathematical optimization is applied to determine optimal operating conditions. Different model modifications are done and their effects on the computational effort are evaluated step by step. It is shown that with these modifications the problem can be solved to global optimality within a few minutes using standard software for deterministic global MINLP optimization.